USPS Mailbox Monopoly and Postal Policy Explorations Continue

Picture credit: graphic shown created during the January event by Caroline Gezon, Deloitte Consulting

Leading Dignitaries to Discuss U.S. Postal Policy Issues

PostalVision 2020/7.0 Continues USPS Mailbox Monopoly Exploration

PostalVision 2020 at its March 21-22, 2017 event will feature a panel of leading dignitaries who will continue the discussion started at its January “Delivery by Design” event around the USPS mailbox monopoly, as well as other postal policy issues. The powerful agenda and roster of enlightening speakers scheduled for the March event will include continue the ongoing dialogue about the future needs of Americans for a postal system designed to support the growth of business and ecommerce. This year’s conference, themed “Business NOT As Usual,” will focus on new and changing business models in our global postal ecosystem in the new digital economy.

“PostalVision 2020 is uniquely qualified to explore issues like the future of the USPS mailbox monopoly,” said John Callan, managing director of Ursa Major Associates and Founder of the PostalVision 2020 Initiative. “Our agnostic environment and open forward-thinking dialogue are the perfect setting for stakeholders and regulators to gather and discuss these critical issues,” he said.

At PostalVision 2020’s January “Delivery by Design” one-day event, a host of stakeholders gathered at the Schar School of Public Policy and Government at George Mason University to engage in a dialogue around the existing delivery landscape, trends for tomorrow, and the challenges for users, service providers and other stakeholders. The event complemented ongoing parallel efforts by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its Congressionally-requested study of the USPS monopoly. A key feature of the event was a debate around the pros and cons of the existing USPS mailbox monopoly by three prominent industry influencers and moderated by Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Chairman Robert Taub.

Discussions around these key issues will continue at the March PostalVision event, as a panel moderated by Lori Rectanus, Director of Physical Infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will talk about key issues and takeaways from the January event as well as the GAO’s work on the USPS monopolies, the USPS’ universal service obligation, and what comes next. Panelists will include PRC Chairman Hon. Robert Taub, the Hon. David Williams from the Schar School of Public Policy & Government (and former USPS Inspector General), and Ramesh Ratan, CEO of Bell and Howell.

Hon. Robert Taub was sworn in as Commissioner at the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) in October 2011, following his nomination by President Barack Obama and confirmation by the United States Senate. He was then designated Acting Chairman by President Obama on December 4, 2014. Commissioner Taub has more than 30 years of experience in public service. At the time of his appointment as Commissioner, Mr. Taub had been the Special Assistant to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh. In a variety of leadership roles on the U.S. House Oversight & Government Reform Committee for 12 years, Mr. Taub also worked closely with Congressman McHugh on matters relating to the nation’s postal and delivery sector.

The Hon. David C. Williams now serves as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the George Mason University Schar School of Public Policy and Government. He formerly served as Inspector General for the USPS from 2003 to 2016. Prior to that, Williams served as IG for five federal agencies, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Social Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, the Tax Administration of the Department of Treasury, and Acting IG for HUD, while he was also serving at the Department of the Treasury.

Lori Rectanus, Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government Accounting Office (GAO) will discuss ongoing studies concerning the USPS physical retail infrastructure and how it serves the needs of Americans. She will participate on a panel that also includes CanadaPost’s retail executive John Reis Rectanus has worked on several initiatives dealing with the USPS, fulfilling Congressional requests and inquiries, and recently testified before Congress on issues related to the USPS’ financial challenges and its delivery vehicle fleet.

Ramesh Ratan is CEO and member of the board of directors of Bell and Howell, a leading global provider of multi-channel communications and commerce solutions. He is also a member of the board of directors of BCC Software LLC, a Versa Capital company. Previously at Pitney Bowes, as President, Marketing Services Solutions, Ramesh developed a new business platform to drive revenue growth via partnerships with global marketing data services providers. Earlier, as Chief Operating Officer at the Direct Marketing Association, Ramesh led a new growth strategy focusing on data- and analytics-driven marketing.

The PostalVision 2020/7.0 event will feature a broad range of other topics and speakers, including sessions focusing on global strategies and cross-border perspectives, exploration of specific new business models emerging in shipping, transporting, receiving, and returning of mail and parcels. Sessions will take a closer look at how digital and physical experiences are becoming blended, the power of proximity, and the emergence of more local distribution models. And those who come to PostalVision for a glimpse of the latest technology won’t be disappointed as we explore 3d printing, virtual reality and more! For more information, check out the agenda on our web site!

GRAB YOUR HOTEL ROOM THIS WEEK TO SAVE!!!! PostalVision 2020/7.0 will be held on March 21-22, 2017 at The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Pentagon City, Va. We have a special hotel room block rate at The Ritz Carlton (host hotel for the event) that expires March 3rdso make your hotel reservation using our code before then for big savings (hotel info at bottom of this page on our web site)!